Taipei International (Songshan) Airport’s Terminal No. 2 will soon be open to domestic passengers, with renovations expected to be completed next month, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday.
Cheng Chien-chung (鄭堅中), chief of the airport’s business service division, said the second terminal, which has been closed for renovation since October, will serve domestic passengers when it reopens.
The terminal will have two check-in counters, two jet bridges and two luggage carousels, and will be able to accommodate 2.8 million passengers. FamilyMart and Mr Brown Coffee will have outlets at the new terminal, Cheng said.
An observation deck between the first and second terminals, where passengers can watch takeoffs and landings, has also been built, he said.
In line with the airport’s plan to use the first terminal exclusively for international flights, Cheng said renovations of part of the first terminal would start next month.
Two of the check-in counters serving domestic flights will be removed and replaced with international flight counters, he said, adding that construction is scheduled to be completed in September.
Songshan Airport became operational 1936 and accommodated international and domestic flights for several years. It became an exclusively domestic airport after Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport — then known as Chiang Kai-shek International Airport — was opened in 1979.
The airport resumed its functions as an international airport after the government launched cross-strait direct flight services in 2008.
While domestic passenger volume dropped substantially following the launch of the high-speed rail in 2006, international flight volume has grown steadily in recent years.
In addition to cross-strait flights, the airport launched direct flight services to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport as well as to Tokyo Honeda Airport, as part of the government’s plan to build an “Golden Aviation Circle in Northeast Asia.”
Meanwhile, the CAA said it was working with the Taipei City Government on the development of the airport for business travel.
CAA Director-General Yin Chen-pong (尹承蓬) said one of the key aims was to develop a Taipei Airport Zone, which involves property spanning 533 hectares.
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